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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – After a quarter century serving Lake County, a local businessman is retiring following the sale of his family’s business.
John Norcio spent his last day at work on Dec. 31 at the Lakeport McDonald’s on Todd Road, which he and his wife, Pat, had owned for 25 years.
Norcio, 65, said he sold the restaurant to a Vacaville-based businessman who also owns the Clearlake McDonald’s and a number of others around the Bay Area.
Business has remained strong despite the tough economy, Norcio said.
“We had a good value product. A lot of customers recognized that,” Norcio said. “Our business was very solid.”
The Lakeport restaurant was known for the quality of its service and employees.
As to why he chose to sell the business and retire, “I just decided it was time to travel and just enjoy life,” said Norcio.
In retirement, he and Pat said they plan to stay in Lake County.
The Norcios have been fixtures in the community, donating generously to a wide variety of local organizations and charities.
“I wish we knew all the things he did. He’s done so much,” said Lake County Chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton.
Norcio tends not to brag about his efforts, so Fulton helped fill in some of he and his wife’s accomplishments.
Fulton pointed to his longtime membership on the chamber board and chamber presidency in 1994, he and Pat’s support of youth sports and their annual “McBoo Night” Halloween costume contest, and their continuing sponsorship of the Stars of Lake County Community Awards Program.
John Norcio also is a longtime Lakeport Rotary Club member.
Fulton said the Norcios have been involved with the kinds of efforts that bring the community together.
One of the family’s goals was always to give back to the community, John Norcio said.
“The community treated us very well,” he said.
He added, “It’s a two way street in business,” noting if you do for the community, its members will do for you.
Norcio began with McDonald’s 49 years ago, in 1964.
Then a 16 year old living in San Jose, the young Norcio needed a part-time job because he wanted a car.
He and a friend met the man who had purchased the local McDonald’s franchise, and the owner offered the teens jobs.
Norcio didn’t know what McDonald’s was. At that time, “McDonald’s was relatively new in the San Jose area,” Norcio recalled.
He accepted the job, and would spend 24 years working in a McDonald’s in the Bay Area before buying the Lakeport store and moving to Lake County. His first day on the job in Lakeport was Feb. 1, 1988.
Pat kept busy on the home front, raising the couple’s two children, Nick and Kim, and volunteering. Nick later would be involved in running the Lakeport store, working as its manager.
The Norcios treated their employees like family, so when John Norcio delivered the news about retirement, “They were sad to see us go,” he said. “There was a lot of emotion.”
Norcio said he’s looking forward to spending time riding a motorcycle he recently bought, which he took for a 7,200-mile trip last year.
He and Pat enjoy taking cruises, and visiting with daughter Kim and their grandson in San Jose. They’re also looking forward to seeing more of their friends.
As for a parting piece of advice to local business owners on how to keep going and stay successful, Norcio offered a simple tip.
“Get involved. Pay it back,” he said.
The Norcios have written a thank you letter to the community. Read it here: http://bit.ly/ZkxfLj .
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Kathleen Maclay
As the California Legislature prepares to consider bills relating to implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and expanding Medicaid, the state has the opportunity to significantly increase health insurance coverage at minimal cost to the state budget, according to a joint study by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Labor Research and Education and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
According to the report, new state spending directly related to the expansion is likely to be largely offset by savings from reduced expenses in other state health programs, mental health services and state prisons.
“This is a historic juncture for California: the state has the chance to improve the health of its residents by greatly expanding health care coverage at a relatively minimal cost,” said Laurel Lucia, policy analyst at the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education and the study's lead author. “And this expansion also would translate into much-needed new jobs for many Californians.”
The report comes as the California Legislature is about to begin a special session to consider health care legislation related to implementing the ACA.
Medicaid eligibility expansion was effectively made optional for states by a U.S. Supreme Court decision last June, and California legislators have not formally approved such a change.
Under the expansion, more than 1.4 million California adults under age 65 will be newly eligible for Medi-Cal (the state's Medicaid program), of which between 750,000 and 910,000 are expected to enroll by 2019.
Researchers estimate new state spending on these enrollees at between $46 million and $75 million in 2014, growing to between $309 million and $381 million in 2019.
The federal government will pay all medical costs for the newly-eligible enrollees from 2014 to 2016 and no less than 90 percent in future years.
The minimal state spending from 2014 to 2016 reflects the state’s share of administrative expenses, which are equivalent to 2.5 percent of medical costs, according to the new report.
Another 240,000 to 510,000 Californians who are already eligible but not yet enrolled are expected to take-up Medi-Cal coverage by 2019.
This is because of greater awareness of coverage options and ACA provisions that require individuals to obtain insurance coverage and require states to simplify Medicaid enrollment and renewal processes, changes taking place regardless of any expansion.
Most of the new annual state Medi-Cal spending from 2014 to 2016 – projected at between $188 million and $471 million, depending on how many people sign up for health insurance – will be related to increased enrollment among Californians who are already eligible.
Billions of dollars in new federal Medi-Cal funds will pay for at least 85 percent of the total costs of the eligibility expansion and increased take-up among those already eligible through 2019.
California has been working towards implementing this Medicaid expansion since 2011 by enrolling 500,000 California adults in coverage prior to ACA implementation through county-based, low -income health programs, said the researchers, and these Californians will transition to Medi-Cal in 2014.
The report’s enrollment projections were made using the California Simulation of Insurance Markets (CalSIM) model, a micro-simulation developed by researchers at the two centers with support from The California Endowment.
CalSIM uses a range of official data sources, including the California Health Interview Survey, to estimate the impact of the ACA on employer decisions to offer insurance coverage and individual decisions to get coverage in California.
To estimate federal and state Medi-Cal spending, the authors calculated average per-member, per-month costs for new enrollees by analyzing data from the state Department of Health Care Services and by applying assumptions based in part on the CalSIM model.
The study was funded by The California Endowment.
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) so far has released only very high-level estimates of the impact of state spending under the Medi-Cal expansion.
Lucia added that while the nonprofit Urban Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., has issued a report on the impacts of the health insurance expansion report that provides a state-by-state analysis using national data sources, the UC Berkeley/UCLA report used California-specific data sources and explores the particulars of the California budget.
Read the report: "Medi-Cal Expansion under the Affordable Care Act: Significant Increase in Coverage with Minimal Cost to the State" online at http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/healthcare/medi-cal_expansion.shtml .
The UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, a public service and outreach program of the UC Berkeley Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, was founded in 1964 to conduct research and educate on issues related to labor and employment, such as job quality and workforce development.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health-related information on Californians.
Kathleen Maclay writes for UC Berkeley’s News Center.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Cal Fire said this week that it is hiring seasonal firefighters for this year’s fire season.
Seasonal firefighters are entry level positions that eventually can lead to careers in the agency.
Cal Fire firefighters played a key role in helping to stop several large wildland fires burning in and around Lake County and the state during last year’s fire season.
The application filing period for the 2013 season ends Jan. 31.
“Fire Fighter I” is a seasonal, temporary classification used by Cal Fire.
Hiring usually occurs between April and June, depending upon the year's fire and weather conditions.
The minimum qualification to participate in the Fire Fighter I Classification is that a person must be 18 years of age at the time of appointment to the position.
Applications will be accepted by mail or in person for the units in the Northern Region. Applications will not be accepted at Sacramento headquarters, region offices, or conservation camps.
Cal Fire said applications must be filed at each unit where a candidate wishes to be considered for an appointment. For unit contacts see http://calfire.ca.gov/contacts/ .
Applications can be downloaded at http://calfire.ca.gov/about/downloads/careers/FFI_Application.pdf .
For more information visit http://calfire.ca.gov/about/about_careers_fireprotection_seasonal.php .
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Two Ukiah teenagers were injured on Saturday when the vehicle in which they were traveling went off of Highway 20 east of Clearlake Oaks.
The crash occurred east of Walker Ridge Road just before 2:30 p.m., according to Officer Kory Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The two young women injured were Maria Vargas, 18, and Angelica Duarte, 19, Reynolds reported.
Reynolds said Vargas was driving eastbound on Highway 20 when, for unknown reasons, she allowed her 1999 Toyota Camry to go off the roadway, strike an embankment and overturn.
Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown told Lake County News on Saturday that the Camry had gone off the road and about 150 feet down an embankment. Northshore Fire and Williams Fire had to use a rope rescue to bring Vargas and Duarte up from the demolished car.
Reynolds said both young women were transported to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake. Vargas complained of pain to her back, head and legs, and Duarte had pain and small lacerations to her forehead.
He said the collision is still under investigation by CHP Officer Steve Patrick.